By David Clarke

If you want your players to hone their crossing skills, try this non-stop game aimed at helping them get the ball into the box at the right time.

WHY USE IT

The session is a good workout to help teams experiment with angles and different heights of playing a ball into the box from the wings. The crossers are unopposed so they can concentrate on the technique and get good crosses in. It’s a fast and continuous session.

SET UP

Create a playing area 40×30 yards including a five-yard crossing zone. You don’t need to use keepers even though we’ve included them in our session. But you do need four teams of two players and a server. You also need balls, bibs, cones and goals.

HOW TO PLAY

The server plays the ball to the attacking pair, who must get the ball to the crossing zone for a cross to the two attackers. After the attack, the team defends and the previous defenders break out to attack the other end.

TECHNIQUE

Arriving in the box at the right time is important for the session to work – if the attackers are waiting for the player to cross before they run, it will be easily defended. Putting balls into the box is good practice for match days.

I am always going on to other coaches about coaching teams to think about how they set up when they haven’t got the ball. I don’t mind the oppposition having the ball as long as my team are in control of the positions they are playing in.

If we can identify a player low on confidence on the opposition team then my players can position themselves so the ball goes to this player. IF that player has the ball they may be forced into an error that will benefit my team.

In the match between Manchester United and Chelsea that decided the Premier League Champions the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson always plays his left winger narrow when Chelsea play Branislav Ivanovic at right-back. Ivanovic was given all ;the time on the ball he wanted because the United coaches were sure he couldn’t harm them when he had the ball.

In this case it was Ji-Sung Park on the left and he created the opening goal after only 40 seconds by sitting narrow and catching Ivanovic off his guard. The pattern of the game was shaped here with Ji-Sung Park staying narrow allowing Ryan Giggs to run at Ivanovic.

It also gave Wayne Rooney space to work in, and the Chelsea midfield were overrun for much of the game.